From 6a2e668e670c937aa570a92875d0054ff5adf32a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Yusuf Baylav <330015149+baylavdev@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:57:47 +0300
Subject: [PATCH 1/3] docs: add Linux inotify limits guidance to dotnet watch

Added a new section explaining how to resolve the common inotify instance limit error on Linux and Docker by increasing fs.inotify.max_user_instances and max_user_watches via sysctl.

Fixes #19814

Signed-off-by: Yusuf Baylav <330015149+baylavdev@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md | 26 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 26 insertions(+)

diff --git a/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md b/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
index 1a859526cf84..e7343236a93c 100644
--- a/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
+++ b/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
@@ -227,3 +227,29 @@ Visual Studio 17.2 or later includes the .NET SDK 6.0.300 or later. With the .NE
 
 * Configure the `DOTNET_WATCH_SUPPRESS_EMOJIS=1` environment variable to suppress emitting these values.
 * Switch to a different terminal, such as https://github.com/microsoft/terminal, that  supports rendering non-ASCII characters.
+
+
+## File watcher limits in Linux
+
+When running `dotnet watch` on Linux or in Docker containers, you may encounter an error indicating that the configured user limit on the number of inotify instances has been reached:
+
+`The configured user limit (128) on the number of inotify instances has been reached, or the per-process limit on the number of open file descriptors has been reached.`
+
+This happens because the operating system limits the number of file watchers that a single user can create. To resolve this issue, increase the `fs.inotify.max_user_instances` and `fs.inotify.max_user_watches` system limits.
+
+To temporarily increase these limits, run the following commands:
+
+```console
+sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_instances=524288
+sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_watches=524288
+```
+
+To make this change permanent, add the following lines to the `/etc/sysctl.conf` file:
+
+```ini
+fs.inotify.max_user_instances=524288
+fs.inotify.max_user_watches=524288
+```
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> For Docker containers, these limits are inherited from the host operating system. You must configure the `sysctl` settings on the host machine, rather than inside the container.

From f97e3103d7c1e729c248c9eb6cdb6cdd37b16a8c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Luke Latham <1622880+guardrex@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:48:54 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 2/3] Update inotify limit resolution instructions

Clarified instructions for increasing inotify limits.

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md b/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
index e7343236a93c..5582a360b39c 100644
--- a/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
+++ b/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ When running `dotnet watch` on Linux or in Docker containers, you may encounter
 
 `The configured user limit (128) on the number of inotify instances has been reached, or the per-process limit on the number of open file descriptors has been reached.`
 
-This happens because the operating system limits the number of file watchers that a single user can create. To resolve this issue, increase the `fs.inotify.max_user_instances` and `fs.inotify.max_user_watches` system limits.
+If the inotify instance limit is exhausted, increase `fs.inotify.max_user_instances`. If the process has reached its open-file-descriptor limit, increase that limit instead. The separate `fs.inotify.max_user_watches` setting applies when the inotify watch limit is exhausted.
 
 To temporarily increase these limits, run the following commands:
 

From 91b4a97cbf3665493e5bbfd1d9dfd6ccbe67ae95 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Luke Latham <1622880+guardrex@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:50:36 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 3/3] Apply suggestion from @guardrex

---
 aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md b/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
index 5582a360b39c..1e9c35ff005b 100644
--- a/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
+++ b/aspnetcore/tutorials/dotnet-watch.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: Develop ASP.NET Core apps using a file watcher
 author: tdykstra
 description: This tutorial demonstrates how to install and use the .NET CLI's file watcher (dotnet watch) tool in an ASP.NET Core app.
 ms.author: tdykstra
-ms.date: 05/31/2018
+ms.date: 09/23/2026
 uid: tutorials/dotnet-watch
 ---
 # Develop ASP.NET Core apps using a file watcher